Thursday 19 October 2006 19.20 EDT
First published on Thursday 19 October 2006 19.20 EDT

A Royal Marine died yesterday after a suicide bomber attacked his Land Rover in the first fatal incident involving the commando brigade, which has just taken over from paratroopers in southern Afghanistan. A second marine was seriously injured in the attack on two vehicles leaving a police station near the centre of Lashkar Gah, capital of Helmand province.

The marine, who was not named at his family's request, died after suffering severe injuries in the explosion which destroyed his Snatch Land Rover.

Two children were also killed in the attack by the suicide bomber, who attacked the two-vehicle convoy on foot, defence officials said. Seven civilians were reported to have been wounded. Lashkar Gah has been relatively safe, compared with outlying areas to the north of Helmand province where most of the 18 British troops who have died as a result of enemy action since June have been killed.

In a statement, Brigadier Jerry Thomas, commander of 3 Commando Brigade, said the attack took place just before 11am local time. The marine died of his wounds after being airlifted to hospital and receiving the "best possible medical attention". The injured marine was being treated at the British field hospital at Camp Bastion.

Brig Thomas expressed his sympathy for the families and friends of those killed and injured in the attack. He added: "My troops are performing their jobs here with admirable courage and professionalism and will continue to do so."

British soldiers in southern Afghanistan will be provided next year with new armoured vehicles which provide greater protection than Snatch Land Rovers, which are only protected by composite fibreglass designed to stop rifle fire.

However, in response yesterday to the Commons defence committee which has expressed concern about the vulnerability of the Land Rovers, the Ministry of Defence said the new vehicles would "complement", not replace them. It added: "Maintaining a low patrol profile in Iraq and Afghanistan can be helpful, so where appropriate, a more mobile and less aggressive patrol vehicle such as Snatch, which enables us to engage with local people, could be the best vehicle to use."

Next month, marines in Afghanistan will be provided with German-built long-range automatic grenade launchers, the MoD said. They will cost £4.3m, be capable of firing 340 high-explosive rounds a minute at a range of 2,000 metres and will be mounted on adapted Land Rovers.

Nato's secretary general, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, said yesterday there was "no military solution for Afghanistan ... security alone is not enough. [Afghans] also want a job. They want to see reconstruction and development across the country. They want to see their children have a better future." He said the UN and other international agencies "must now step up their game in order to exploit the window of opportunity our military action is creating. In terms of cooperation, we simply must do better than we have done to date."

He acknowledged that Nato forces faced "stiff resistance" in the south.

Mr de Hoop Scheffer was asked about comments earlier this month by General David Richards, Nato's commander in Afghanistan, who repeated his request for more troops and warned that the country was at a "tipping point". He replied : "We should be careful not to impose deadlines on ourselves. But I agree with Gen Richards that it is of great importance to win the battle for hearts and minds. He is right when he says that a number of people in Afghanistan are sitting on the fence and looking [at] how things will develop."